


Alive

by pink_green_white_4ever



Category: Power Rangers R.P.M.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-03
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2017-11-11 09:18:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/476992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pink_green_white_4ever/pseuds/pink_green_white_4ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When 3 members of the team go missing, a discovery north of Omega City sets RPM on a path to discovering the legacy they had no idea they were part of and a journey to overcome their demons. 2yrs post Danger & Destiny.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Brave New World

Alive  
Prologue: A Brave New World  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: April 23, 2012

Summary: Two years post Danger and Destiny. A new discovery of epic proportions sends the RPM Rangers on a journey to save three of their own, and down a path laden with familiar faces.  
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance  
Ships: SD, ZK, FG, and more to come  
Disclaimer: I don't own PR, wish I did. I don't own the song, Alive, it's by Leona Lewis.

Author's Notes: Okay, I did a hell of a lot of thinking through the Power Rangers timeline to come up with the time frame for this story. This story was also started before Samurai was even a twinkling, so they will not be included in this story, unless I set them in the timeline after RPM Happened. Here are a few things you need to know and remember.

1 – it's my belief that due to the fact that there were no aliens in RPM what so ever that RPM took place sometime between Jungle Fury (2008) and SPD (2025); that means there is approximately a 17 year gap there to play with. 2 – we saw Ziggy rob a Jungle Karma Pizza location, which means someone from JF had to have made it to Corinth, I will explain that in this story. 3 – there is no way in hell that given the amount of former Power Rangers, with and without powers, that any or all of them would have stood back and watched Venjix destroy the world (unless you consider the stupidity of Operation Overdrive, but that is neither here nor there). I'm going to explain that too. 4 – Corinth, in my opinion, is not the only city to have survived. We saw Omega City when the Rangers went to find clues to Dillon's past. I'm of the theory that just because Ranger teams didn't survive, doesn't mean their cities didn't. That will get explained here too.

5 – this story is set two years past RPM, giving the Rangers and their relationships and futures we learned of in Danger and Destiny time to mature and grow. 6 – given what I know of the official ages of the SPD team from the Disney website and the time line in which SPD was supposed to happen, Jack, Sky, Bridge, Z, Syd and Sam are alive during this story and ranging in age from 11 (Sky) to 2 (Sam). They may or may not at some point play a role in this, I haven't decided yet. 7 - As we know, Dr. Manx and Piggy were on Earth in this time frame, so I'm going to assume that Cruger was too, but in hiding. The events described in SPD would take place sometime just after this story. 8 – as we saw in RPM, Venjix destroyed the world. This story isn't going to be a happy go lucky story. Many of the Rangers we've come to know and love died during the three year assault prior to the opening sequence of RPM. More will die in this story. You've been warned.

Dedication: Enigmaforum – for the inspiration to do it. Shawn – for the encouragement to write this and for letting me bounce ideas off him. Ang – for the excitement you always have when I start a new project, it always makes it fun. Liz – I love you dearly, I hope you enjoy it even though you've not gotten to see a whole lot, or any, of RPM yet.

"Destiny rarely calls us at a moment of our choosing" – Optimus Prime, Transformers 2

6:00 A.M.  
Friday, October 6, 2017  
Southern California  
(2 Years Post RPM)

The sun was at its highest point in the sky, beating down on the parched golden sands of the southern California desert. No living thing could have survived the brutal temperatures that had sky rocketed to nearly a hundred and seventy five degrees Fahrenheit, not before Venjix; unless they were specially equipped for it. The temps had come down some, the closer one got to the mountains or the ocean, in the two years since the virus had been defeated, but a normal person would still fry in the heat unprepared. At the top of the highest dune, a red spandex dressed figure stood ram rod straight, one clenched fist rhythmically pounding into the open palm of the other hand as it looked down on the desert floor. Luckily, the warrior was prepared, and the spandex, bless it, allowed for maximum comfort in this particular situation.

In the distance, nestled among the lower dunes, stood a towering, menacing building that looked like hell on Earth. The figure watched as robots, Grinders, unloaded boxes upon boxes of parts from a large semi into the building. A slight shake of its head had the figure wanting nothing more than to slide down the dune and attack; the urge to do so, to take revenge for all that had been lost was so fast so full that the warrior almost choked on it. Closing weary brown eyes beneath the helmet it wore, the red suited figure watched as memories of the past flashed on the inside of its eyelids, tearing at an already broken heart.

It had been two years since the Grinders had been seen in this part of California. Two years since the RPM Rangers of the domed city of Corinth had destroyed the Venjix Virus, the evil computer code of a villain that had destroyed Earth as nothing before it ever had. The broken heart that lay in the red warrior quivered at that thought; despite the deaths of those who had come before them, the Rangers of Corinth had proved to be honorable members of a long, victorious legacy. Zordon, in all his wisdom and glory, would have been proud of them.

But the warrior knew victory came with a price, and the possibility that that which you had fought to defeat could come back. In its experience, the warrior knew that no evil the Rangers had faced ever stayed gone for good. And now was no exception.

Venjix was back.

The crackling of the communicator strapped to the warrior's wrist brought its attention back to the present. "Go head."

"This is Yellow. Blue wants you to come back; he's got something on the computers."

"Tell him I'm on my way, and gather Green and Pink, we've got a bigger problem to deal with."

"Gotcha boss."

Domed City Of Corinth, CA  
Eagle Squad Training Facility

Cup of coffee in hand, the Commanding Officer of Eagle Squadron stood on his balcony watching the sun come up outside the city shields. It was an image that never got old to Captain Scott Truman. In the two years since the air outside the dome had been cleared of Venjix's vile, the former Red Ranger had gotten use to getting up with a cup of coffee and watching the sun take its rightful place in the sky.

It still amazed and humbled him that he'd been apart of the reason Venjix had been destroyed. His days as a Ranger meant the world to him, which is why he'd accepted his father's offer to head up Eagle Squad. It had made the transition after giving up his morpher a hell of a lot easier. He was still keeping the city safe, but in a different way.

He was glad Gem and Gemma had agreed to join Eagle Squad. While it had taken many of the others weeks to get use to the Boom twins, they'd proven he'd been justified in asking them to join him. Not only did he believe in their abilities, but he was use to working alongside them. They had proven to him, countless times, but especially during that last battle, just what they were made of.

The beeping of his com-link made him sigh before turning back to head into his apartment. "This is Scott, go ahead," he said, switching on the screen. Hicks was on the other end, already in the newly rebuilt command center.

"Sorry to bother you," Hicks started. "But your father wanted me to let you know we've got a problem."

"What's up?"

"The envoy we sent to Omega City a week ago has unearthed something in the hills just to the north of the city. It looks like another Alphabet Soup bunker."

Scott's eyes narrowed. Just the words Alphabet Soup left him with a bitter taste in his mouth. They were the reason Venjix had destroyed the world, they were the reason Dr. K, Gem and Gemma were the way they had been….all because they were greedy for weapons of mass destruction and thought using children was the way to get it. "Have you spoken to the twins or K yet?"

"No. Your father wanted you informed first. He wants Eagle Squad to head to Omega City and check it out, and he wants you to take Dr. K, Flynn and Ziggy with you. He said, and I quote, 'this is Ranger business'. You leave at 0900 hours."

"Get word to Dr. K and Ziggy at the school, I'll call Gemma at Flynn's and roust Gem out of bed."

"Of course."

6:15 A.M.  
Flynn McAllister's Apartment

Sunlight was filtering through the open blinds and right into sleepy blue eyes. With a groan, the former Blue Ranger turned away from the intrusion, burying his face in a mass of cherry scented black strands, otherwise known as Gemma's hair. Grinning to himself, he tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her gently back against his chest. He was spooned behind her and enjoying a rare moment to observe her unawares. She was using his left arm as a pillow while her actual pillow was clutched in her arms against her chest. She was dressed in one of his old sports jerseys and had her cold feet tucked back against his legs.

It still made him smile in wonder that they'd been sleeping in the same bed together for over a year. Following their retirement from Project Ranger, they'd begun casually dating for a year. That arrangement had changed when they'd begun sharing each other's beds, whether it was at the Eagle Squad's barracks or here in his apartment. He couldn't help but like the fact that Gemma used him as a giant pillow and blanket when she slept; almost always she'd go to sleep with her head on his chest or with his arms wrapped around her from behind. He signed with relief, realizing neither of them had woken in the night with nightmares; for the entire first year of their retirement, both of them had been haunted by nightmares of Venjix killing Gem and Gemma during the final battle. Flynn couldn't begin to count the nights he'd woken up in a cold sweat, fear gripping every part of him so hard that he'd rushed to the com-link and called Gemma. She'd almost always been seconds away from calling him, having woken from one of her own nightmares. After they'd started sharing each other's beds, the nightmares had trailed off until they were only once in a while. He had a feeling when their relationship finally took that last serious turn and became physical, they might go away altogether. But that was a thought for another time. For now, he enjoyed just having her in his arms.

The beeping of the com-link in the kitchen made him growl in frustration. Carefully slipping out of bed, making sure Gemma slept on, he plotted on the best way to kill who ever was calling him at the god-forsaken hour of six in the morning. "This had better be important!" he hissed when he hit the button to turn the screen on. He blinked rapidly when he caught Scott on the other side, dressed in a red t-shirt and a black leather jacket. He knew his best friend should have been getting ready for work, which meant military fatigues, not his old civilian uniform. "Scott? What's wrong? Why are ye calling me at six in the friggin mornin?"

"I'm sorry, I know you don't usually have to be up till eight, but it's an emergency. Is Gemma with you?"

"She's still a'sleeping, why?"

"You two need to get to the base, immediately. Dr. K and Ziggy are on their way here as we speak."

"Scott?"

The look on the former Red Ranger's face had cold fear gripping Flynn's heart. "We've got Ranger business in Omega City." His words didn't make the former Blue Ranger's fears go away, they merely increased them.

"Give me a half hour, we'll be there."

6:25 A.M.  
The Garage

"ZIGGY! HURRY UP!"

Rolling his eyes, the former Green Ranger yawned and came down the stairs from his room, slipping on the battered leather jacket he hadn't worn much in two years. Like his morpher, it had been a piece of his year as a Ranger he'd taken off and hadn't worn except maybe once or twice since Venjix had been destroyed. Considering Scott had said this was Ranger business, what better reason to break out his trusty sidekick. "I'm coming, keep your pants on!" he laughed, but saw that K's face was red and her eyes were swollen. It worried him, because he'd only seen her like this once in the last two years – the night the team had given her back their morphers and she realized that it was all over, that they'd won.

Dropping the humorous look on his face, he quickly strode over to her, reaching out to cup her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, thumbing away her tears. Their relationship had steadily built in the two years since Venjix had been defeated, and while they weren't close like Summer and Dillon or Flynn and Gemma, they were still affectionate with each other when the time called for it.

"I'm…" she choked, closing her eyes as more tears rebelliously leaked out and slid down her cheeks.

"It's going to be okay, you know that right?" he told her softly. "We've got the morphers, we've got two thirds of the team together; it's going to be okay."

When K's blue eyes opened, she was staring up into Ziggy's confident face. While she didn't believe him for a second, old habits died hard after all, she was appreciative of his attempt to calm her. "I'm scared."

"Me too; never stopped us before though."

"Let's go, Ranger Green," she murmured, smiling when he cocked an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Don't start that again, it won't work," he muttered.

"Awww, but you were so cute in the green spandex," she teased, trying to lighten the mood even while Ziggy's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! You called it spandex!" he laughed, pulling her to him.

Rolling her eyes, K pushed at him before stepping back to smooth her coat out. "You have no proof whatsoever that I used the word spandex in relation to the bio-field technology or the Ranger suits, Series Green."

"Damn!" he muttered as they got in the jeep they shared and left the garage.

11:00 A.M.  
North of Omega City, CA  
Uncovered Lab in Mountains

As careful as possible, the Rangers parked their zords at the base of the mountain where the Corinth Military envoy had set up camp. Once their passengers disembarked, Eagle Squad having caught a ride with them due to lack of a landing strip, the team demorphed, and began making their way up the side of the mountain to where the envoy was working. "This is even creepier than Omega City was two years ago," Ziggy muttered as they cut their way through the dense jungle path up the mountain.

"Just be glad we've got the portable system for the morphers this time," Scott told him, reminding him of what had happened the last time they'd left Corinth for Omega City. It had almost ended in disaster but instead had Silver and Gold joining the team. After the defeat of Venjix, it had been Dr. K and the Colonel's idea that they needed to rebuild Omega City. The plans had taken six months to come together, but a year ago, the remaining Rangers had been recruited by the military to begin hauling materials and equipment from Corinth. In her infinite wisdom, Dr. K had suggested setting up a portable system at the military base in Omega that was fitted to work with the Ranger technology, just in case.

When the team finally came to the site of the underground lab, Scott motioned for the non Ranger members of Eagle Squad to stick close together and behind the Rangers. With Flynn at his side, Scott led them all into the destroyed lab. One look inside screamed that this place was just as badly destroyed as the one found in Corinth had been – only as they entered, Gem, Gemma and Dr. K seemed to immediately realize it wasn't an Alphabet Soup lab.

"Sweet, what's wrong?" Flynn gently asked Gemma, running his hand up and down her back. Even dressed in a pair of black slacks and her leather jacket, a gift from the team as a memento of her Ranger days, she shivered.

The Silver Ranger said nothing as she carefully picked her way further into the destruction. "Not Alphabet Soup," she finally murmured in wonder.

"Oh my God!" K gasped, kneeling in the center of the floor. Using her fingers, she quickly wiped off a piece of the wall that was partially buried under other debris. The team huddled around her, all of them pulling out their flashlights and shining them down on what she was looking at. Right there on a piece of broken wall, were words that confused them all – Lightspeed Rescue.

"Dr. K? What's Lightspeed Rescue?" Scott finally asked, crouching down next to her. He handed Flynn his flashlight and carefully dug the piece out with K's help.

The young doctor let out a shaky breath. Lightspeed Rescue…she'd been a child when they'd been active, and she couldn't remember ever seeing another word about them in the confines of Alphabet Soup beyond the basic files of their mission nor had she heard about their work in the short years that had followed her escape. "Lightspeed Rescue was a top secret government agency that was a complete support system for the Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers unit based out of Mariner Bay, California."

Everyone in the room looked shocked and surprised. "Other…Rangers?" Flynn asked, swallowing hard as he tried to digest the words. "I thought they were myth, the other teams."

K stood, cradling the emblem in her arms. "No, Flynn, they weren't. All told, from what I know, there were fourteen different teams in the years prior to Venjix's assault. I was a child when Lightspeed was active. Alphabet soup had information, basic information, on the technology all the teams used; it was the basis for the technology in Project Ranger. Believe it or not, most of the teams used alien-based technology brought to Earth many years ago, while others like the Lightspeed team had man made powers, and some still were said to be based on magic. All of it was tied into the Bio-Field we tapped into."

"Aliens? Magic?" Scott scoffed, shaking his head as he stood. "Come on Doc, that's not possible."

"She's telling the truth," a soft voice spoke up, one that didn't belong to any member of the recon group.

"Who are you?" the Red Ranger demanded, spinning around in a defensive crouch while the other Rangers joined him, Ziggy and Gem putting themselves in front of Dr. K.

Out of thin air, a figure stepped forward. "My name is Angela Fairweather Rawlings, and I am the creator of the Lightspeed Ranger technology."

Gem look at her curiously, his stance easing even while his brow furrowed before he walked over and stuck his hand through her. "Hologram."

"Correct. This base's computer systems contain all my memories, my knowledge, and a holographic program containing my image."

Ziggy stood, scratching his head as he stared at her. "But how?"

Angela's image smiled sadly. "This base's computers were set to recognize any signature from the Morphin Grid."

"Morphin Grid?" Flynn echoed.

The image nodded before beginning to explain. "All Ranger powers, no matter how they come to be, are connected to what is known as the Universal Morphin Grid. As my husband once described it, in layman's terms, it's like the Force from Star Wars, only it's specific to Ranger powers and magic."

Gemma stared at her in confusion before her face brightened. "The bio-field!"

"Correct."

K still stood, clutching the emblem, summoning the courage to ask what was digging at her. "What happened?"

The hologram seemed to sigh. "The batteries powering the base were damaged in the attack on Omega City at the beginning of the Venjix assault several years ago. Without the proper power, all the data here is going to be lost. You must save the data – it contains all known information on Venjix that the Rangers could gather, as well as any and all information I had on Earth's Ranger teams from Mighty Morphin to Jungle Fury. You must hurry!"

The team gasped when the image wavered before disappearing completely. "Flynn, Scott, go with Gem. I put the back up tools I might need in with the equipment that we had on the Lion Hauler. Ziggy, Gemma, help me start checking the equipment in here. The sooner we get the data back to Corinth, the sooner we find out what happened to the other Rangers," K ordered, carefully setting her bundle aside before striding over pieces of debris to the bank of computers at the back of the room.

"Captain, there's an incoming transmission from the Colonel," one of the Eagle Squad pilots announced.

"Come with me, you can patch me through to him on the way," Scott ordered. "The rest of you, help them clear the debris out of here."

While the four hurried out, Ziggy bent down to start sifting through the rubble with the other members of Eagle Squad. Gemma took K's lead and headed back to the computers, hoping that their data was not lost.

It took ten minutes before they began to see the floor of the lab, and it was then that Ziggy narrowed his eyes when his flashlight hit something that sparkled in the light. Pushing away a few pieces of ceiling, the green Ranger dug his fingers through and pulled away a necklace. A familiar necklace.

The Landsdown Diamond.

"K! Gemma!" Ziggy hollered, clutching the broken chain between his suddenly cold fingers.

The two women rushed over, Gemma giving a gasp while K's eyes widened. "That's…"

"GUYS!" Flynn's voice echoed through the open door seconds before the Blue Ranger thundered in. "Summer, Dillon and Tenaya are missing." He stopped short when he caught sight of the object in Ziggy's hands.

"Dr. K?" one of the pilots asked, holding up a beaten and battered leather jacked. The Rangers felt their hearts sink when the female pilot turned the jacket around. On the back was a number five in the shape of a very familiar wolf.

Dillon's Ranger jacket.

"Flynn, what do you mean they're missing?" Gemma finally shook herself from her stupor and demanded.

The Blue Ranger swallowed. "Colonel Truman was contacted this morning by Summer's parents. They haven't checked in with them in nearly six months and Rogue Squad found The Fury not far from here at the Dunes."

"They had to have found this place," Ziggy numbly responded. "At least some time in the last six months, they had to have been here." He hadn't realized that they hadn't contacted him either, and felt guilt and a cold fear seize his stomach. He gripped Summer's necklace tightly, his thoughts on the people he considered family.

"I'm taking Gem to the Dunes with me, to check and see if it's really The Fury," Scott said when the two re-entered carrying two cases with Dr. K's equipment. "As soon as you're done, head back to Corinth." The others nodded and got busy while Gem and Scott morphed before heading out for the Dunes.

2:00 P.M.  
Southern California  
"The Dunes"

Two figures hid behind a cropping of barely alive trees and the destroyed remains of an SUV. Each had a set of high-tech binoculars and were watching the two color-suited figures poke around the black car at the base of a distant dune. "What do you think?" the shorter, stockier figure asked.

"Looks like a couple of Power Rangers to me. Wonder why they're bothering with that car though."

The shorter one nodded. "Reports came through that three humans were taken to that big hell hole Red found a few months back."

The taller one rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah? So?" he fired back. "What? Do you think that has to do with the Rangers?"

The smaller one looked heaven ward before looking back at his friends. "Red said two of them were giving off Morphin Grid signatures, faint ones, but still…"

"Which means Rangers. Damn it all to hell!"

A chuckle escaped the smaller man. For the first time in nearly seven years, the warrior felt hope. There were Rangers again; young, active Rangers. "Let's head back before we're seen. I'm surprised that fighter squad didn't spot us."

"Dumb asses."

The smaller man chuckled all the way back to their transport.

Next Chapter: We learn more about the mysterious warriors who seem to be watching the Rangers, the RPM team finds out more about the legacy they're part of, and the bad guys start revealing themselves.


	2. Ashes Of A Legacy

Alive  
Chapter 1: Ashes Of A Legacy  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: May 24, 2012

Summary: Two years post Danger and Destiny. A new discovery of epic proportions sends the RPM Rangers on a journey to save three of their own, and down a path laden with familiar faces.  
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance  
Ships: SD, ZK, FG, and more to come  
Disclaimer: I don't own PR, wish I did. I don't own the song, Alive, it's by Leona Lewis.

Author's Notes: Okay, I did a hell of a lot of thinking through the Power Rangers timeline to come up with the time frame for this story. This story was also started before Samurai was even a twinkling, so they will not be included in this story, unless I set them in the timeline after RPM Happened. Here are a few things you need to know and remember.

1 – it's my belief that due to the fact that there were no aliens in RPM what so ever that RPM took place sometime between Jungle Fury (2008) and SPD (2025); that means there is approximately a 17 year gap there to play with. 2 – we saw Ziggy rob a Jungle Karma Pizza location, which means someone from JF had to have made it to Corinth, I will explain that in this story. 3 – there is no way in hell that given the amount of former Power Rangers, with and without powers, that any or all of them would have stood back and watched Venjix destroy the world (unless you consider the stupidity of Operation Overdrive, but that is neither here nor there). I'm going to explain that too. 4 – Corinth, in my opinion, is not the only city to have survived. We saw Omega City when the Rangers went to find clues to Dillon's past. I'm of the theory that just because Ranger teams didn't survive, doesn't mean their cities didn't. That will get explained here too.

5 – this story is set two years past RPM, giving the Rangers and their relationships and futures we learned of in Danger and Destiny time to mature and grow. 6 – given what I know of the official ages of the SPD team from the Disney website and the time line in which SPD was supposed to happen, Jack, Sky, Bridge, Z, Syd and Sam are alive during this story and ranging in age from 11 (Sky) to 2 (Sam). They may or may not at some point play a role in this, I haven't decided yet. 7 - As we know, Dr. Manx and Piggy were on Earth in this time frame, so I'm going to assume that Cruger was too, but in hiding. The events described in SPD would take place sometime just after this story. 8 – as we saw in RPM, Venjix destroyed the world. This story isn't going to be a happy go lucky story. Many of the Rangers we've come to know and love died during the three year assault prior to the opening sequence of RPM. More will die in this story. You've been warned.

Dedication: Enigmaforum – for the inspiration to do it. Shawn – for the encouragement to write this and for letting me bounce ideas off him. Ang – for the excitement you always have when I start a new project, it always makes it fun. Liz – I love you dearly, I hope you enjoy it even though you've not gotten to see a whole lot, or any, of RPM yet.

"Destiny rarely calls us at a moment of our choosing" – Optimus Prime, Transformers 2

5:00 P.M.  
Friday, October 6, 2017  
Domed City Of Corinth, CA  
The Garage

Scott and Ziggy stood in the kitchen, up to their elbows in flour, cheese and pizza sauce, both of them looking more than a little lost. Gemma and Flynn were in the process of hooking up all the intact servers and computer units that had been hauled back from the lab in Omega City. Dr. K's plan was to connect them to the Garage's systems and pray they could get the information off them. Dr. K and Gem meanwhile were working to physically repair the system that held Angela Rawlings' hologram program. Being useless in the computer department, the Red and Green Rangers had volunteered to cook a group dinner.

The Red Ranger's eyes were glued to The Fury, the spoon in his hand forgotten. Dillon's last transmission to him had been that they were coming back because Summer hadn't been feeling well. He'd forgotten all about it when his father had announced that Eagle Squad was going to be taking a more active role in the rebuilding of Omega City's military base. The guilt he felt at having forgotten for six months about his friends was eating him from the inside out.

"Scott?" Ziggy muttered, nudging his team leader. "You alright?"

"Not really. Dillon said Summer was sick and they were coming home, but with the mission to rebuild Omega City, I forgot."

Ziggy clenched his jaw and nodded. "They're still alive," the Green Ranger spoke.

"How do we know?" the Red Ranger hopelessly uttered.

"I refuse to believe Dillon would let anything happen to Tenaya or Summer. They're lost or seeking shelter somewhere. We'll find them; I have the utmost confidence in the Doc's abilities."

Scott said nothing, just nodded his head and went back to spooning sauce on the pizza dough.

6:15 P.M.  
Southern California  
Undisclosed Location

"Are you sure they were Rangers?" Red asked, staring at the two men on the com-link. Both were dressed in the dark blue military uniforms and red berets they'd been wearing for nearly two decades.

"Positive. Red and Gold, if their suits were any indication," the smaller, calmer one of the two reported back.

Red just blinked. There had been a Gold and Silver near Omega City just after its destruction, and through the year before the first reports of the Rangers of Corinth appearing. Reports had been sparse since the city shields had gone up, and their contact in Corinth hadn't mentioned new Rangers.

"They flew away in their huge flying, chicken-looking Zord after using a giant magnet to hoist up the car," the taller one cracked, bringing a rare smile to Red's face. He'd always been one to make fun of the zords…

"Do they know about Venjix's return?" Red asked out loud, but to no one in particular. "Or were those three humans important to them? Were the two of them indeed Rangers?"

"Red, we've gotten a report from Purple that our Omega City base has been unearthed."

"Angela?"

The two men looked pained. "Both her and Joel are gone. Purple said the Rangers were removing servers, pc towers, and other equipment."

Red let out a huge breath, feeling the tiny of ray of hope that had bloomed wither and die again. "All the data about before is there. The last entries were from before Corinth's shields went up."

"So the last deaths were recorded? Other than Joel and Angela's?"

"As far as I know, yes; I'd like to call a meeting…everyone who's left. It may be time to reveal ourselves to the Rangers of Corinth."

The two men nodded, the taller one wanting to protest but refraining from it. Red had been one of Zordon's chosen, and had been made leader by the mighty crystal that gave the only intact team their powers. Best not to question Red's judgment just yet.

"What about the children?"

"The good Doctor has them in the academy, protected, with the Ninja."

"Understood."

When the communication winked out, I could only sigh as the weight of this new information settled on my shoulders. So many years of fighting this battle, one not of my choosing, and I find I'm exhausted. The strains of leadership have been many…

Granted, there was nearly a decade and a half span between my first and second tenures, but the last seven years have been the most brutal of my life. Not even being stripped of my power coin was this hard to deal with.

I have lost more than humanly possible, as have those under my command, since we picked up the fight again. My children are my singular source of joy. My parents and brother died in Venjix's first attack on California. My friends and teammates died doing what they've always done best – trying to save the world; and my Beloved gave his very life to ensure the future of our children. Every day of the last six years without him has killed another part of my heart and soul. It's a wonder I can still function on a day to day basis. My son looks more and more like his father every time I see him, and he's overly protective of his sister, just like his father was of me. I miss my Beloved endlessly, but he lives on through our children, and that's what has kept me going.

"Boss?" I turn to see Yellow standing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Ptera and Tricera are on their way. Purple's scouting Corinth, trying to get in touch with our contact there."

"Has Blue called the Ninja and the Doctor?"

"Yes. You talked to Double Trouble?"

I couldn't help but grin at that nickname; it certainly suited the two of them. "Yeah. They've spotted Rangers."

Yellow's eyebrows shot up at that. The worry on his face is soon eclipsed by the surprise. "Outside the shield?"

"West of Omega City; they took the car the guys found out there."

"What do you think it means?"

I look at him and shake my head. "I think it means our time is coming," I tell him. "Venjix must be destroyed, once and for all." I watch Yellow nod, the once merry jokester of my youth suddenly quietly thoughtful. The years have been hard on him, particularly with losing Aisha the way he did…

"Boss?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm tired." Never a more true comment if I've ever heard one. Now nearly forty, all of us have been Rangers nearly half our lives. "I'm ready to quit."

I feel the burning in my heart. He's always been one of the most honorable, skilled and dedicated warriors I've ever known. But he's voicing all our feelings. We're tired, we're ready to raise what's left of our families and live out our lives in peace. "I am too."

Reaching out, I grip his hand tightly. "I miss them," I can only murmur. "At night, I can still hear their voices, I relive our adventures. I can feel it in my bones – this is our last battle; then we can hang up the spandex."

"We lost so much," he utters as he shakes his head at the idea of how many of us we lost. Of the seventy eight members of the Morphin, Zeo, Turbo, Space, Galaxy, Lightspeed, Time Force, Wild Force, Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder, Mystic Force, Overdrive and Jungle Fury Rangers, mentors and allies, only twenty one of us were known to survive the Venjix campaign. The Time Force team was forced back to the future, and both the Space and Galaxy teams are unaccounted for. When Venjix destroyed Angel Grove, we lost all communications with KO-35 and Mirinoi. I have no idea what ever became of the two teams.

"These Rangers are our legacy. They'll carry on so we can step down."

I smile sadly. It's the first time I've ever heard him talk about retiring while there's still a battle to be fought, but I know what he's thinking – we're getting too old to keep doing this. It was one thing with Tommy when he came back to join Dino Thunder, but this, this is way different. We aren't young, and we have children to think about. "I know. We'll help them, and then we'll step down, step away."

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Dear Diary,

It's been almost four months since we were last in Corinth for Christmas and New Years. It's been an amazing experience traveling all over the country. Surprising too. In the last year, we've discovered many pockets of human life that not even Venjix knew about. So far, Blue Bay Harbor has been my favorite. The city on the coast is beautiful, but haunting. Venjix obviously felt it was of no use to him because for the most part, it's intact. There are stories, however, of their Ranger team and the courage and determination they showed in the fight against Venjix's forces. That's where I got the haunted feeling when we were there; after my part in Venjix's attacks, it almost felt like the souls of the Rangers were watching me, hating me…

Neither Summer nor Dillon mentioned, to anyone, about their Ranger status or about my past. I've helped keep those secrets, because it just didn't feel right to tell the people who we were. It was hard for us to learn that there had been other teams, who'd fought in our war, but who had perished fighting. Dillon in particular seems to feel guilt ridden over that. Summer's tried to make him feel better, but to no avail. My brother feels things so much more deeply then I think even he expected to. Learning that other rangers had died fighting Venjix seemed to wilt something in his soul.

The last four months I've noticed a distinct change in Summer and Dillon's relationship. If possible, they've seemed closer than ever before. If my suspicions are correct, then I may have a niece or nephew on the way. Summer hasn't said as much, but I've noticed the changes in her body the last two months. I'm excited for the future, and even more so to be home in Corinth with the team again soon. I miss hearing Dr. K and Ziggy's constant bickering, which is all a cover for their relationship though we are all aware of how close they are. I miss Flynn and Gemma's quiet but strong togetherness, Gem's quirky sense of humor he seems to have developed in the last year, and Scott's compassion. I also miss our long walks and deep talks, something I haven't been able to engage much in being so far away from him. It's hard having my over protective brother looking over my shoulder every waking moment sometimes. ;)

It's still a wonder for me that nearly a year and a half after being one of Venjix's most trusted warriors that I have a family and friends who love me and who I love; I have a city I call home and miss when I'm not there. I have a life!

I can't help but smile. I'm no longer a machine, I'm a human being. Though that's not to say I don't have my moments. The pages of this diary are a testament to that. I really am looking forward to being home. But first, we're headed into the southern California desert. There's been rumors the last few months that a group of stragglers from Venjix are hiding in a rundown factory. Dillon wants to check it out before we head home.

9:00 P.M.  
The Garage

Scott closed his eyes, Tenaya's battered leather diary in his hands as he held it close to his chest. They'd found it when they'd gotten The Fury's trunk open two hours before. There were other entries in the book, but it had been the last entry that he'd been most interested in.

Six months.

Summer had possibly been pregnant.

The ramifications of it were staggering. 'Ten, where the hell are you?' he silently wondered, his heart constricting. They'd grown so close during her visits home, and now…

"Scott?" Dr. K's voice broke through his anguished thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Did she leave us any clues?"

Opening his eyes, Scott looked at the petite doctor. In the two years since Venjix had been destroyed, she'd changed so much. She was still a stickler for the rules and she preferred computers to people most of the time, but she had lightened up, she interacted better with people when she came into contact with them, and overall, she had a better attitude. It was the pleading and hope in her eyes that had him nodding. "Rogue Venjix tech in the desert, not far from a place called Blue Bay Harbor. It sounds like the three of them discovered the information about the other teams and went to investigate."

"Blue Bay Harbor…" K muttered, turning to her computer. She, Gem, Gemma and Flynn had finally gotten the computers containing Angela's files hooked into the system, and a half hour ago, Gem had finally gotten the system with the hologram program running, they just hadn't tested it yet.

"Doc?"

Scott watched her hit a few keys. "How can I help you, Dr. K?" Angela's voice sounded, even as her hologram appeared.

"Mrs. Rawlings, tell me about Blue Bay Harbor."

"Home of the secret Wind and Thunder Ninja Academies, who produced not only the space warlord Lothor, but the Ninja Storm Power Rangers. Blue Bay Harbor is two hours south of what is left of Los Angeles, just north of what use to be San Diego," she said matter-of-factly. "According to our records, the Ninja Storm team managed to save ninety percent of the population in the Venjix campaign leading to the raising of Corinth's shields. The people took refuge in the forests surrounding the academies, protected by the magic the Rangers drew on and the hundreds of Ninja students the academies had been training. At last count, however, only the Green Samurai Ranger survived the battle of Blue Bay Harbor. The Thunder Academy, though heavily guarded, sustained massive damage and had to be evacuated. All survivors were thought to have been taken to the Wind Academy."

Scott looked at Dr. K and shook his head. "Mrs. Rawlings, who is the Green Samurai Ranger?"

"That information remains a secret. You need the proper password to obtain it."

Dr. K sighed. "I've not been able to break the encryption on the files containing the identities of some of the teams. Space, Lightspeed, Mystic Force, and Overdrive are the only teams whose identities were public knowledge before Venjix's attack," she explained to Scott, who nodded.

"That is correct," Angela's voice responded.

"Doc, what was the state of the other teams?" Scott spoke up.

"At this time, other than Lightspeed and Ninja Storm, the files are still encrypted. I don't know. It appears only two Rangers survived – Ninja Storm's Green and Dr. Dana Grayson, Pink Lightspeed."

"Ziggy?" Gemma called out, creeping into the doorway of Summer and Dillon's old room. The Green Ranger sat cross-legged on the bed, the Yellow Ranger's necklace dangling from his fingers and the Black Ranger's jacket in his lap.

"What?"

"Talk to me," the Silver Ranger urged, moving to kneel before him. He'd been so very optimistic but the longer they waited the less hopeful he was they'd find their friends.

"We should be out there looking for them, not sitting here," he growled.

Gemma sighed. "Dr. K, Gem, Flynn and I are looking as hard as we can for them, for any clue. Give us time."

He gave a sarcastic laugh at that. "They've been missing six months, Gemma. We don't have time left."

The Silver Ranger looked at him, her head cocked to the side, and watched him stare down at the necklace now resting on the jacket in his lap. "They're still alive, Ziggy. You and I both know we'd have felt it if they weren't."

"We never thought anything of them having not checked in," he continued as if he hadn't heard her. "What kind of friends are we? None of us questioned each other or the fact that we'd not heard from them!"

Reaching out, Gemma took Ziggy's hands and held them tightly. "We have no excuse; it was a bad call on all our parts. But Ziggy, they're Rangers; they know how to take care of themselves. I have no doubt they're still alive."

For the first time in a long time, Flynn walked out onto the rooftop patio of the Garage, a beer in hand, and stared up at the moon. It lit the night sky brightly, making his eyes almost water from its brightness, and he found himself wondering if Dillon, Summer and Tenaya were looking at it wherever they were. He knew Summer loved to sit and watch the night sky, it had been one of her only ways to get to sleep when they'd first started training to be Rangers. The pain he felt just under his heart reminded him yet again that something had happened to his brother and sisters, and he didn't know what.

He spotted Gem sitting on the ledge, legs dangling over, head thrown back as he stared up into the sky. The two of them had gotten close in the last two years, particularly because of Gemma. They'd found they enjoyed a lot of the same hobbies – comic book collecting, fixing cars, computers, you name it. They had just enough differences between them to keep things interesting, but it was nice too to find a kindred spirit.

"Whatcha thinking?" Flynn asked, offering his beer to Gem.

The Gold Ranger shook his head, his eyes never leaving the stars and moon above. "You know, Dillon promised me at Christmas he was going to teach me to drive when they came back."

Flynn looked startled by that as he sat down on the ledge, mirroring Gem's pose. "Wow, I didn't-a realize…"

"I can drive a car, but I wanted to drive like he does when he's in The Fury. It's sorta like stunt driving; at least what I can tell from the movies Scott's let me borrow. I wanted to be able to drive like that."

"He certainly has a way with his car," Flynn grinned, taking a pull from his bottle. "How many of the computers were damaged?"

Gem let out a weary sigh and looked over at Flynn. "Most of them. I'm afraid a lot of the data may be lost to us. K's optimistic that we can fix them, but a lot of the circuitry is just fried beyond belief. And then there are all the encrypted files; I can't even begin to imagine how long or what it's going to take to get the information off them. We know so little about the other teams."

The Blue Ranger nodded, mulling over what they did know about the other teams, and what they knew about Gem, Gemma and K's time in Alphabet Soup. "Gem, how much did ye know about them prior to Venjix's attack?"

"Not much. K knows more than Gemma and I both. We did meet with a couple members of Lightspeed once; Carter Grayson and Joel Rawlings."

"Red and Green Lightspeed?" Flynn's shocked voice interrupted. That much they'd been able to find out from Angela's working files.

Gem nodded. "They were teaching us to fly. How to handle Zords….K doesn't know about it, or if she does, she hasn't mentioned it. I know she didn't get to meet anyone from the other Ranger teams, but I know she had basic information about them."

"How long did ye work with'em?"

"A couple of days, neither of them could handle the two of us," Gem grinned. "If you thought we were bad when we joined the team, you should have seen us back then." The two shared matching smirks. "Anyway, we were reassigned to work with Alphabet Soup's pilots and never saw them again."

"Ye never met Angela?"

Gem shook his head. "No. And before you ask, I don't think either of them knew what Alphabet Soup was. From what I remember, they merely thought that Lightspeed was helping the government develop new Ranger tech and they were merely training two new Rangers."

Flynn nodded. "Any self respecting Ranger would have broken the two of ye out of that hell hole if they'd known."

"Flynn?"

"Yeah?"

Gem gnawed his lip for a minute before he asked his question. "Do you think we're going to find the others? Could they possibly have survived out in the Wastes?"

"Ye and Gemma did. That gives me hope."

"Gemma and I had our morphers, a few supplies we managed to hoard from Venjix transports…."

Flynn reached over and squeezed Gem's shoulder. "We're going to find them. Dillon's too damn stubborn to die; look what he went through to save Tenaya. And look what Summer went through to save him? Ye think they'd let anything happen to each other?"

"No, but it's been six months…."

"Which means every minute now counts."

Southern California  
Unknown Factory

It's stifling hot in here again, despite the fact that, by my estimation, it's October, and therefore fall everywhere else. I'd like nothing more than to tug at the collar of my suit but don't, because I know an act like that will give away my secret. I can't afford to let them know my secret, if for no other reason then her well being.

She's lying on a cold, hard table, nothing but one of those tinfoil makeshift blankets covering her swollen body. They've been poking and prodding at her for hours, her cries for them to stop having halted long before. I almost can't stand to hear her voice, to hear her beg for them to leave her be. It shouldn't have ever been this way; we should have gotten her home, where she would be safe and cared for, where she wouldn't have to cry every time they did something to her. She is my sister in every way but blood, and I feel as if I've failed her. I can do nothing but watch over her and pray that somehow, someway, the precious life inside her body won't have to grow up never knowing anything but the hell of this factory.

I don't remember how long we've been here, but I can still vividly remember the day we came here. Just to make sure, he reassured us. We couldn't very well let Corinth be attacked again, not by rogue Venjix tech. The city was just starting to feel safe and normal, we had to stop it all costs, if there was anything to stop. God, if they had only had their morphers on them…who knew two little devices could have changed so much. I was in no shape after the first round of attacks to help them…I remember him fighting his way to her side, trying so desperately to protect the life they'd created between them, to keep the Grinders from hurting her.

I pushed past all the pain, crawled toward them to help, but I didn't see HIM coming.

Neither did they.

Her screams rip me from my memories and force my attention back to the present. Her knees are drawn up, and one of the medical bots is probing between her legs. It's too soon for her to be in labor…I don't know how I know, but I do….I think I remember….

She's down to just whimpers now as the medical bot leaves her alone. I can see the pain etched on her face…..if I ever get free, they will pay! I'm no good to her now, and neither is he…he's gone. Part of me prays he managed to lock away himself inside his own mind the way I have, but hope is slim. The last time I saw him, he wasn't himself.

He's going to feel so much…if I ever get him back, he's going to hate himself. He gave up so easily, but what else could he do? They threatened his reason for being, his beloved and their child. A knife to her throat and a laser pointed at her stomach and I watched all the fight leave his eyes…so lifeless…when I saw him after they took him away, he just stared blankly at both me and her. The fiery spirit that made him who he was, it was gone. It's all just gone.

How could our lives have gotten to this point? How could we have lost so much when we had such bright futures before us? How did Venjix come back to life after we destroyed him?

Next Chapter: Dr. K makes some progress with the programs found in the destroyed Ranger base. A meeting of the mysterious desert warriors leads to more clues of their identities. And the RPM Rangers have their first encounter with a blast from their past.


	3. Digging For Answers

Alive  
Chapter 2: Digging For Answers  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: December , 2012

Summary: Two years post Danger and Destiny. A new discovery of epic proportions sends the RPM Rangers on a journey to save three of their own, and down a path laden with familiar faces.  
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Romance  
Ships: SD, ZK, FG, and more to come

Disclaimer: I don’t own PR, wish I did. I don’t own the song, Alive, it’s by Leona Lewis.

Author’s Notes: Okay, I did a hell of a lot of thinking through the Power Rangers timeline to come up with the time frame for this story. This story was also started before Samurai was even a twinkling, so they will not be included in this story, unless I set them in the timeline after RPM Happened. Here are a few things you need to know and remember. 

1 – it’s my belief that due to the fact that there were no aliens in RPM what so ever that RPM took place sometime between Jungle Fury (2008) and SPD (2025); that means there is approximately a 17 year gap there to play with. 2 – we saw Ziggy rob a Jungle Karma Pizza location, which means someone from JF had to have made it to Corinth, I will explain that in this story. 3 – there is no way in hell that given the amount of former Power Rangers, with and without powers, that any or all of them would have stood back and watched Venjix destroy the world (unless you consider the stupidity of Operation Overdrive, but that is neither here nor there). I’m going to explain that too. 4 – Corinth, in my opinion, is not the only city to have survived. We saw Omega City when the Rangers went to find clues to Dillon’s past. I’m of the theory that just because Ranger teams didn’t survive, doesn’t mean their cities didn’t. That will get explained here too. 

5 – this story is set two years past RPM, giving the Rangers and their relationships and futures we learned of in Danger and Destiny time to mature and grow. 6 – given what I know of the official ages of the SPD team from the Disney website and the time line in which SPD was supposed to happen, Jack, Sky, Bridge, Z, Syd and Sam are alive during this story and ranging in age from 11 (Sky) to 2 (Sam). They may or may not at some point play a role in this, I haven’t decided yet. 7 - As we know, Dr. Manx and Piggy were on Earth in this time frame, so I’m going to assume that Cruger was too, but in hiding. The events described in SPD would take place sometime just after this story. 8 – as we saw in RPM, Venjix destroyed the world. This story isn’t going to be a happy go lucky story. Many of the Rangers we’ve come to know and love died during the three year assault prior to the opening sequence of RPM. More will die in this story. You’ve been warned.

Dedication: Enigmaforum, Shawn30, Angel, SYuuri, and JTrevizo – I love all of you so very much. Thank you for everything! Psycochick32 – RIP. You are sorely missed, my dear.

“Destiny rarely calls us at a moment of our choosing” – Optimus Prime, Transformers 2

\--

11:00 A.M.  
Tuesday, October 10, 2017  
Domed City Of Corinth, CA  
Jungle Karma Pizza

 

“Boss, there’s a phone call for you!” one of her employees told her as he walked out of the back door. She’d been standing behind the building, trying to get a breath of fresh air. It had been a few years, but even now she had a hard time with the smell of pizzas baking and customers talking excitedly over sports, movies, you name it. It took her back in her memories, reminded her of a time when things had been so much simpler and her life had been so much more exciting and full. She’d been whole then, surrounded by the love of her life and the family they’d been a part of. While she hadn’t been like the others, hadn’t had the awesome power to change the world, she’d never once felt separated from them. Until now.

Of that family, she’d been the only one other than their wolf who had survived the Venjix massacre. Brothers, sister, husband – they had all perished in the fight to protect the citizens of Ocean Bluff and ultimately save their world. She gasped when the tears slid down her cheeks, having not realized she was crying at all. The memories of that last battle didn’t always bring tears, but she’d been especially sentimental recently. Reaching up, she pushed her glasses up and wiped the tear tracks from her face before pushing away from the wall and heading inside. She said nothing as she dashed up the stairs to her office, her eyes latching onto the emblem on the wall as she moved passed it – all that was left of their legacy was Jungle Karma Pizza, and she’d spent the last few years making it a success; making it a testament to the lives of those who had once loved it as much as she.

“Hello?” she absently answered as she picked the receiver up off the desk and sat down to start working on the next week’s schedule.

“Pretty lady, how’s the pizza business?” the achingly familiar voice asked, making her breath catch as his words met her ears. Her head snapped up and she felt her hand tremble as she laid the pencil she held on the desk again.

“Doing just fine, Master,” she answered him with the utmost respect, wincing as she heard the quiver in her own voice. “It’s been a while since I last heard from any of you, is everything okay?”

There was a long, pregnant pause before a sigh reached her ears. “Yes and no. I need your help.”

“Of course. What can I do?”

“I’m coming to Corinth, and I need to slip in and out of the dome undetected. To do that, I need your assistance.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. None of those who survived on the outside that she knew had ever come to Corinth since the wolf had brought her here and left her the year the city shields had gone up. “How come?”

“Red’s sending me in to do some scouting. I need to observe the team, without them knowing it.” His cryptic response had unease swelling in her belly; if Red was sending someone in, it meant something big was going on.

“You’re scaring me.”

Another pause and a deep breath let out against the receiver from his end, and she could mentally picture the look on his face. “I can’t tell you anymore than that this is important. You know Red wouldn’t send me if it wasn’t. I’ll be there in two days.”

Letting out the breath she hadn’t know she was holding, she nodded even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “I’ll be waiting.”

\--

Undisclosed Location  
Same Time

“Well?” her voice, so familiar to his ears, carried an edge to it that hadn’t been there before. He’d known her all his life; the beautiful, spunky teenager had morphed into a confident, mature woman who’d made the best of a horrible series of events. The fearless heart of their team once, she was now the indomitable leader of what was left of the Rangers. He watched a piece of her die a little more every day they continued to wear the armor they’d thought they’d hung up as teenagers.

“Purple checked in. He’ll be there in two days. Our contact on the inside is more than willing to help,” he informed her, watching the tension in her leave a little.

“Good. And the others?”

He actually smiled, recalling the phone call with his fellow geniuses. “Samurai’s working on the connection. The academy suffered a blown generator a few days ago. Power’s being diverted to the back-up shields in case the magical barrier goes down, so communications are going to be spotty at best for a while.”

She nodded. “He won’t let that happen,” she responded, shaking her head as she wondered what other set backs they could possibly face. “Have they found the others?”

“Elizabeth is in Corinth, at the orphanage. There’s been no word on Jack or his mother,” he told her, watching her face pinch. Danny and Kendall’s daughter had disappeared but resurfaced in Corinth a year before. The only reason she knew that was because they’d found out that Bulk and Spike had actually survived and made their way to the domed city. And they had still not found T.J’s son, the child’s mother, or his stepfather. “We still don’t have word of Sydney or Bridge.”

“And Sky’s still in the future?”

When it came to the son of the former Time Force Rangers, he could only sigh. “Wes refuses to tell me if he’s talked to her at all.”

Her shoulders moved up and down in a familiar shrug. It was a nearly impossible task to get Wes to talk about his family, especially since the last time Sky saw him, he was told that Wes had perished at the hands of Mirloc. “We know he survives, because I refuse to believe that the four of them wouldn’t do everything in their power to ensure the future remains unchanged. If they don’t grow up…”

“Bridge doesn’t come back to help Adam,” he finished her sentence, both of the shuddering painfully. “I’m well aware.”

Rare tears gathered in her brown eyes, breaking his heart. She hadn’t cried in front of anyone since her falcon had died. She’d refused to show weakness, plain and simple. “I’m tired.”

“We all are, and I’m sorry you’ve had to shoulder most of the burden of leading what’s left of us.”

“Billy…” she whispered before she moved across the room and slid into his lap, arms wrapping around him as she held on tight. He’d been beside her through some of the best and worst moments of her life, had given her strength, support and had held endless faith in her abilities. They had both loved and faced bitter, draining loss; they had fought side by side and at times against one another, but through it all, he’d been there. She loved him as she had no other. Her heart and soul would always be Tommy’s, of that there was no changing, but since his death, she’d come to love Billy in a much different way than she once had.

“We’ll get through this, we always have before. The kids will grow up and some day, it’ll all be a dream,” he tried to assure her, his hand stroking up and down her back.

“They ask about him all the time,” she whispered, knowing she could share this with him. He knew what it was like to have to answer those kinds of questions. His daughter had only been a toddler when her mother had been killed in a car accident and his stepdaughter and stepson had disappeared into thin air.

“Natural, and a testament to who he was, the kind of father he was. All they have left of him is their vague memories and yours.”

She sniffled as she rested her head in the curve of his neck, for once leaning on instead of supporting. “If it wasn’t for the kids, I’d have joined him a long time ago.”

Blue-gray eyes closed on a sharp stab of pain that echoed in his heart. He knew and respected how she felt because he’d been there himself a long time before. It hurt though, to know his closest and dearest friend had lost her will to go on, save for the driving desire to raise her children.

“I hate to interrupt” a gruff voice called, bringing their attention to the figure in the doorway. “Pink just checked in.”

“Is she alright?” they asked in unison.

Green’s dark eyes clouded with emotion. “She found signs that Adam may have survived longer than we thought. She went to check them out.”

The pair sprang up out of the chair, shock on both their faces. If Adam had survived at least for a little while longer, then maybe so had his and Pink’s son… “Oh God! Is she okay?” Red demanded, her voice carrying more worry than heat.

“Yellow’s gone out to join her. He looked pretty messed up when he left.”

She nodded and looked up into Blue’s face. “Can you alert the others?”

“Some of us are already here.”

Turning, they all saw four figures enter from one of the secret entrances. “Guys.”

“Adam survived?” the petite former Yellow’s voice croaked out of her throat as she moved to embrace Red.

“Longer than we thought, anyway,” Green answered her, his voice pained.

“Red?”

Her face was pale, her eyes a storm of emotions. “Stay on schedule and stick to the plan. I’m going to Corinth.” The other six Rangers stood in silenced shock, watching fierce determination fill every part of their leader.

\--

Venjix Facility  
Same Time

Her throat was on fire, the pain of her body having faded. She could feel the baby finally quiet down. Every few days, they came and put her through excruciating pain, probing the birth canal to monitor the progress of her child. She’d briefly glimpsed Tenaya once, her sister in law looking as blank as she had years before as Tenaya 15. She hadn’t seen Dillon at all since they’d been taken trying to scout the factory. Part of her feared he was gone.

All her expectations of her pregnancy had been destroyed. She could remember the wonder, fear and absolute love on Dillon’s face when she’d told him she was pregnant. It was one thing they’d not discussed with K following Venjix’s destruction – they hadn’t asked if Dillon or Tenaya would be able to have kids due to the Venjix tech. Their baby was a miracle, but she knew that joy was going to turn to sorrow if Venjix got his hands on it.

She was so tired, so sick of the constant pain. All she wanted was to be home with her family, celebrating the pending birth of her child. She cringed when she heard the bots coming back. Carefully, she locked her consciousness deep inside, knowing it was the only way she was going to survive what was to come.

\--

8:00 P.M.  
Tuesday, October 10, 2017  
Domed City Of Corinth, CA  
The Garage

K was absolutely frustrated as she stared at the multitudes of spare parts, fried circuits, and the general mess that was currently her lab table. She had kind of hoped repairing the computers from the Lightspeed base would be a generally easy task, but realized that nothing Ranger related was ever going to be easy. All was not lost though. She had managed to get some more information from the computers, including the identities of the Space and Overdrive Rangers.

It disheartened her to know that the entire Space team was either missing or presumed dead. It was one thing for her to know that billions of people had died because of what she’d done; that was a terrible burden in and of itself on her tiny shoulders, but it was infinitely more personal to know that several generations of people who could be considered family had given their lives to stop her virus. She knew in her heart, there was never going to be a way to atone for that kind of mistake. Turning back to her computer, she studied the screen before her. As far as Angela’s records were concerned, K knew that at least some of the Overdrive team had survived because they’d been charged with taking the children of other Rangers to safety.

“Dr. Rawlings?” K asked, looking down at her notes. She’d been able to make a list of all the former teams and she and Gemma had come up with a list of questions they were hoping the hologram would be able to answer.

Thanks to Gem’s diligence, a good portion of the hologram’s memory banks had been repaired. They were still working on what they all knew were the most critical portions – the ones that had the hidden identities of the non public teams on them.

“Yes Dr. K?”

“Can you tell me about the Jungle Fury and Mystic Force Rangers?” K knew that other than the Overdrive Rangers, those were two of the last teams. It seemed what the team had been able to pull on Jungle Fury and Mystic Force was that their identities had been known by some, but never revealed outside of Ocean Bluff or Briarwood to anyone but other Ranger teams.

“What would you like to know?” Each interaction with the hologram was proving more and more interesting. It was almost as if the technology used for the programming was something alien – this hologram seemed to learn from each session with K or the Rangers. If K hadn’t known that some of the Ranger tech from the earlier teams was alien, she’d have never believed it of the hologram.

“What happened to the remaining team members after the Venjix assault?”

“Jungle Fury was only known to have one surviving official member at the time of my recordings. The wife of one of the Rangers also survived but her whereabouts must be kept secret in case Venjix ever tries to annihilate what is left of the legacy of Rangers.”

“Dr. Rawlings, Venjix has been defeated, I’m asking you to reveal that secret to me. I need to know where she’s at.”

“Without the password, I cannot reveal to you where the Rhino’s wife is.”

Groaning, K shook her head. She sincerely hoped that Gemma got the decryption program working soon, because all the mysterious blocks they kept ramming right into were giving her a headache. “Tell me about the Mystic Force.”

“Last contact with the Mystic Force Power Rangers came during year three of the Venjix assault. At the time, Zeo Ranger V, as the most senior member of the Ranger teams, ordered them to evacuate Briarwood, which lays on the coast of California just North of Blue Bay Harbor.”

“Where did they evacuate to?”

“That I cannot tell you,” the hologram spoke. “No one but the Zeo Rangers was ever made fully aware of the evacuation destinies for any of the teams. It was safest that way.”

K rubbed her forehead. “Did the entire team survive?”

“No. I was told that the White and Red Rangers perished in the fight, along with the Red Wolf and Solaris Knights. I believe the Pink Ranger was severely injured in the battle as well, but it is unknown to me whether Vida died due to her injuries or not.”

With a sigh, K typed out the information. So there was a possibility that there were at least four Mystic Force Ranger still alive – Green, Yellow, Blue and possible Pink – a large part of her hoped they had all survived. It took her all of two seconds to realize that she had just been given a hint to one of the Rangers’ identities.

\--

9:00 A.M.  
Thursday, October 12, 2017  
Domed City Of Corinth, CA  
West Gate – Outer Dome Park

She sat on a bench in the two year old park outside of the west gate. It felt good to be outside in the fresh air, to feel the actual sun on her face, but it also reminded her of what had been lost. She kind of hoped when all of this was over, she and the Wolf might be able to go home and see if anything had survived. She knew that Ocean Bluff was probably still vacant, but if Corinth could rebuild, so could they.

It gave her a start when she felt the brush of fur against her leg. Looking down, she saw a sleek looking wolf sitting at her feet. A luminous smile lit her face as she bent to him, threw her arms around him and buried her face in his fur. “It’s good to see you, R.J.,” she murmured even though her throat was choked by emotion.

He rubbed against her, trying to soothe her. Then he nudged her toward the gate. She laughed and quickly tied the leash around his neck before leading him into the dome.

\--

10:00 A.M.  
Thursday, October 12, 2017  
Domed City Of Corinth, CA  
Military Headquarters

He stared at the screen, face grim, eyes full of questions. It had been a very, very long time since he’d spoken to any of the resistance fighters, particularly the man he was currently staring at on the video screen. Though he looked much older than the last time Colonel Truman had seen him, Mason knew the younger man was still a formidable opponent. “Are you certain?” the Colonel asked again.

“Colonel Truman, I’ve known Zeo Ranger V since were in grade school. She didn’t make this decision lightly. She’s coming to Corinth within the next week, and she wants to meet you and the new Rangers.”

“Why?”

“I believe it has to do with your missing Rangers.”

Mason’s eyes narrowed. “Mr. Bulkmeier, she has never tried to contact us since she gave the order to evacuate to Corinth. Why now? Why after all this time has she decided to take an interest in my Rangers?”

The younger man’s cynical laughter made the Colonel fold his arms over his chest and growl low in his throat. “Colonel, Zeo V has been a Ranger off and on since she was fifteen. She has reasons for doing things that I don’t know and don’t question. Are you going to risk everything by asking her why?”

“We’ll be ready to meet her when she gets here.”

“Good. I’ll contact you again when she’s arrived.”

“Of course. Truman out.”

\--

9:00 P.M.  
Thursday, October 12, 2017  
Domed City Of Corinth, CA  
The Garage

“Dr. K, you’re running around like a lunatic; would you mind telling me why?” Scott demanded, watching the tiny woman race back and forth between five separate computers. She didn’t stop or answer but kept muttering to herself and typing on the computers. Having had enough, Scott stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. “Doc!”

“Dr. Rawlings’ hologram finally gave me a hint, to the identity of one of the Mystic Force Rangers. I’m scouring the city’s databases for information on her.”

Scott’s face darkened and he nodded before moving to K’s main computer. She watched him type something in and then pull up a classified screen she’d only seen Colonel Truman use. “Scott?”

“See what you can gleam from the secret files. I don’t know what’s there, but Marcus gave me the codes, just in case.”

The doctor looked at him, realizing even her Rangers had secrets. “Thank you.”

“Hopefully you’ll find what you’re looking for.”


End file.
